This is a long post, but it's DEFINITELY worth the read. If you're thinking about getting your ears…read morepierced, do NOT GO TO CLAIRE'S. In October, I decided to get my double piercings done at Claire's because I figured that using a piercing gun would be easier, less painful, and a quick procedure compared to how tattoo shops do it. Right? WRONG. Not only did the gun get stuck halfway through and my ears were firetruck red for days after, but the pain was bad enough so that I couldn't sleep on either side for a week. Furthermore, as Claire's admitted THEMSELVES, the earrings they use are of subpar quality and they've had a lot of issues with them falling out and with infection. Just 2 weeks after I got pierced at Claire's, my right earring fell out and my wound closed up overnight. A Claire's employee blamed it on really crappy, imported earrings and recommended that I burn the tip of a safety pin and re-open it myself, since they couldn't do anything to help me. I was so horrified that a so-called "professional" would recommend such a terrible solution that I left and never came back.
As of yesterday, my old piercing was fully healed over, so I went to Town Hall Tattoo in the Wyoming Valley Mall to get it re-pierced, to check the other ear piercing to see if it was healed and aligned properly, and to get some high-quality jewelry instead of the "gold-plated" crappy posts I was wearing. Town Hall Tattoo came highly recommended by my friend, who had her cartilage pierced there and was really happy with the results.
Now, the reason I didn't go to a professional tattoo shop in the first place is because I am scared of needles. I don't like needles ONE DAMN BIT, so going in to get my ears pierced with a needle made me very anxious. However, after I saw Ryan's piercing studio, I was put at ease. He is extraordinarily clean; I mean, everything was pristine. He went to great measures to make sure everything was beyond sanitary. However, he is not only extremely clean, but funny, extraordinarily knowledgeable, and creative. He looked at my ears and knew exactly where a good placement would be, and told me about what he was going to do in detail. His body jewelry was beautiful and very good quality, too.
However, what impressed me the most was the actual piercing itself. I was prepared for a lot of pain and blood, like there was with the piercing gun at Claire's, but I couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised. I heard a pop, and after a few seconds of brief pain (more discomfort than actual pain), it was over. After a minute, the pain was completely gone, and my piercing looked BEAUTIFUL! He gave me lots of great advice, and even gave me free aftercare! That night, I was even able to sleep on my side without any discomfort, and very minimal swelling. I was so happy... and then I got really, really mad at myself that I let my ears anywhere NEAR a piercing gun and the China-made bacteria-traps that Claire's sells as earrings.
I am beyond thrilled with my new piercings and I'm even coming back in today to get my third lobe piercings done! Ryan from Town Hall Tattoo is the BEST!!!